


Blooming Period

by orphan_account



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, And Seungmin Is The Unfortunate Human They Have Chosen To End The Human Race, Changbin is a vampire, M/M, Minho Is A Warlock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When a heavily modded tattoo artist makes his way into Seungmin's flower shop, Jeongin suspects that he could be a gangster - or worse, a vampire. Little do they know that Changbin and Minho have a plan, and that Seungmin, along with the entire human race, is in grave danger.-The vampire king needs a human sacrifice in order to complete a ritual that would destroy the human race. It's up to Changbin, a vampire, and Minho, a warlock, to bring Seungmin to the king before time runs out.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Kudos: 33





	Blooming Period

"Do you think he's a gangster?"

"Of course not, dumbass. Having tattoos and piercings doesn't make somebody a gangster."

"...does make them hella intimidating, though."

"...you're not wrong. Go talk to him."

Jeongin stares at Seungmin with wide eyes, as if his suggestion to go talk to such a man was the most ludicrous thing in the world. "You want me to _what_?"

"Oh, come on," Seungmin replies. He crosses his arms over his chest and nods toward the tattooed man eyeing the succulents in the back corner. "He won't bite."

"That's what you think. How do I know he doesn't have a knife? Or fangs."

Seungmin sighs, knowing that trying to argue with Jeongin was pointless. "Okay, fine. _I'll_ go talk to him, and prove to you that he's not a gangster _or_ a vampire."

"You do that. I'm gonna stay over here where it's safe, near the fridge that has the _garlic_ noodles I packed for lunch." Jeongin emphasizes the word 'garlic', saying it slower and louder than the rest as if to prove its' power. "What are you waiting for? Go to him already."

"I'm going, I'm going." Seungmin wipes his hands on his apron, rolling his eyes at his coworker before making his way out from behind the sales counter. It was a little odd that somebody so...tough looking...would be interested in what their little flower shop had to offer, but Seungmin wasn't one to judge. Not much, at least. Maybe this guy just liked plants. Who knows. Not him. "Hey, are you looking for anything in particular?" He looks over his shoulder at Jeongin, wanting to prove that there was no danger, and just shakes his head when he sees him crouched behind the counter. "Succulents are actually my favorite. They're a lot harder to kill than flowers."

"Yeah, that's kind of what I was hoping for," the man laughs. He was shorter than Seungmin by about five inches or so, but had enough muscle on him that would make anybody overlook the fact that he was shorter than average. His jean jacket looked as if the sleeves had been ripped off, and Seungmin wouldn't have been surprised if that's actually what had happened. This guy was small, but he was packing. "My mom really likes plants but she never remembers to water them. I wanted to find her something that won't immediately die when she, ah, neglects their basic...plant needs."

Seungmin laughs, all too familiar with that kind of request. "Happens all the time. My grandma loves flowers, but I started buying her fake ones a few years back. Now she can have as many as she'd like without calling me every other day, wondering why every plant I bring over dies."

"I tried doing that, but my mom had a cow. She thought I was calling her old and that that was my way of telling her so, even though I was honestly just trying to give her something that wouldn't, you know, die within a week?" The man points to the small selection of ruby ball cacti just below the succulents, a questioning look on his face. "Are cactuses as sturdy as everyone says they are? Because I really think she'd enjoy the bright colors."

" _Cacti_ ," Seungmin corrects with a smile. "Are generally pretty low maintenance, yeah. The ones you're looking at live for about two years, more or less, and require watering about once every two weeks--once a week when it's hot because the soil dries out a little quicker when the temperature rises. They're about as basic as basic gets, which is nice because they make good decor."

"You had me at 'low maintenance' and 'basic'," the man smiles, at which point Seungmin notices an unusual piercing just above his teeth. "I'm gonna buy one to surprise her with when I get out of work."

"Oh yeah?" Seungmin asks. The man picks up his cactus of choice, and Seungmin leads the way through the rows of flowers until they reach the sales counter. "Where do you work?"

"Across the street, actually." The man sets the pot down onto the counter and hands Jeongin, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere from behind the counter, his credit card. "I'm a tattoo artist over at Pigment Of Truth."

"Wait, yeah, I think I've seen you there before. I went with a friend of mine to pierce his tongue a few weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure you were just getting there as we left?"

"Could've been me if it were late in the afternoon. I typically work the closing shift, so. Who was your friend?"

"Hyunjin. Tall. Lanky. Weird mole beneath his eye that looks like it should be fake, but it's not. I think he's friends with...god, what's his name? Minseok, or Mingyu or something li--"

"Minho?"

Seungmin snaps his fingers. "Minho! Yes. He's friends with Minho, the guy with the cats."

"Figures that you'd know him because of the cats," the man snorts. "I think we're the only business in town that has cats, or any other sort of pet, on site. He just gets himself attached to all these strays, and because he can't bring 'em home, he gives them shelter in the shop."

"Speaking of which," Seungmin says, eyes darting toward the cactus. "Keep that out of reach. I don't think you need me to explain why cats plus cacti is a bad idea."

"Yeah, for real," the man agrees. "I really do appreciate your help..."

"Seungmin."

"Seungmin. I'll remember that. I'm Changbin, if you ever wanna..." Changbin looks Seungmin up and down, taking note of his pastel blue sweater vest and lack of piercings, well, anywhere. "I don't know. Have a needle shoved in you at any point in time. I also do piercings if tattoos aren't your thing."

"Thanks," Seungmin smiles, internally cringing at the thought of getting any sort of piercing or tattoo. "I'll see you around, Changbin."

"Yeah...see you, Seungmin."

Seungmin waits until Changbin exits the shop before turning to Jeongin. "I _told_ you he wasn't a vampire. Did you see fangs? Oh, that's right, you didn't because they _weren't there_."

"You don't know that," Jeongin says defiantly. "Felix went to school with a vampire and told me that they know how to hide their fangs, and that doesn't take away from the fact that he could still be a gangster."

"Well, riddle me this, Mr. I-Know-So-Much-About-Vampires. How is he out and about when it's still daylight outside? Can you answer me that?"

"I...well, no," Jeongin admits. "I don't know how to explain that, but--"

"You've got to stop judging people by their appearances, man." Seungmin puts Jeongin into a headlock, giving him a nuggie on the top of his head before letting go. "I know you've been freaked out ever since they found that vampire in the next city over, but not every heavily modded person you see is going to be inhuman. The fact that the _one_ vampire found within a hundred mile radius was taking cover as a tattoo artist was just a coincidence. Don't let it cloud your judgement."

Changbin winces at the burning sensation taking place on his upper arm, and quickly runs inside as soon as he gets to the tattoo parlor. "I thought you said this stuff would protect me for an hour?" he growls, dropping the cactus into the trashcan on his way over to Minho. "I've only been gone for a half hour. Why the hell am I getting burned by the sun so soon?"

"I told you," Minho replies nonchalantly, his feet kicked up onto the desk in front of him. "It was more of a trial run than anything. I need to tweak the ingredients a little. Or maybe it's the heat, I don't know. I'll try making it at a higher temperature next time and see if that helps."

"You are the most useless warlock I've ever met." Changbin grabs a cold compress from the mini fridge behind Minho's desk and presses it onto his aching shoulder. "I wouldn't have gone sleeveless if I knew your stupid potion wasn't gonna work."

"At least it's just your shoulder," Minho points out. "Be happy the rest of you isn't burning. Nobody told you to go sleeveless anyway, that was your choice."

"I thought it would make me appear more human. Be kinda weird if I was wearing long sleeves during a heatwave."

"Touche." Minho puts his feet down and scoots his chair up to the desk, and looks at Changbin impatiently. "So, what did you find out?"

"The younger one is definitely suspicious, but the target seems pretty nonchalant. I heard them arguing about whether I was a gangster or a vampire while I was looking at plants, but I think I handled myself fairly well. I don't think we have any reason for them to be suspicious, especially since it's still daylight out. As far as I know, nobody realizes that your kind actually exist."

"Perfect. What's his name, anyway?"

"Seungmin, and if I keep at it, I don't think gaining his trust would be too hard. He's awfully stupid."

Minho gives Changbin a nod of approval. "You have two months. We need a human sacrifice in order to complete the ritual, and you know just as well as I do that Chan will kill us both if we fuck this up. The human race is done for, and the vampire king will soon reign supreme once again."


End file.
